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This article discusses the value of PLNs specifically for educators. It gives the who, what, when, why and how for the reader.

I really like how this article breaks down what a PLN is, how to learn from one, and where to network. So often, I think that these basics are what keep people from joining in. Though networking can sound intimidating, this piece notes why they are so important to educators and, potentially, students, thus encouraging and motivating users to join in.

This is a nice overview of what a PLN is and how teachers can get involved. It discussed important reasons that PLNs are useful. The article breaks down the need, structure and value of a PLN. #EDTECH543 #EDTechSN #PLN

In this article, Torrey Trust gives an overview of personal learning networks (PLN) and discusses their relevance in education. She identifies two different types of PLNs, information aggregation and social media, as well as their benefits. Many of the tools available for PLNs as well as examples for how teachers can use these tools are also examined. Additionally, three popular online PLNs, including Classroom 2.0, The Educator's PLN, and Edmodo are reviewed.

This is a great article that summarizes key features of PLNs in education. I particularly appreciated the section that discussed motivation regarding teacher participation in PLNs. The collective knowledge and the safe space in which teachers can share ideas and resources with one another seemed to be a powerful motivator for educators when it comes to participation.

This article clearly has a clear connection to teacher practice. The focus on teacher lifelong learning, essential to enhancing learning in schools, is critical. PLNs give teachers a place to break out of the isolation of classrooms so they can reach out to other educators with new knowledge and support so they can meet any challenges that may arise.

Discusses rethinking the way we teach and refers to PLN's as "Passionate Learning Networks". Provides several links to research about PLN's as well as videos and presentations on explanations of PLN's along with steps on how to create successful PLN's

Agreed, great resource and a humorous title to "boot".

This is a resource link to many more resources. In this blog entry by Shelly Terrell on Teacher Reboot Camp, she provides links to 23 resources on personal learning networks. This site provides a wealth of knowledge and resources for those wanting learn more about PLN.

This blog summarizes why Siemens felt the need for a new learning theory and what connectivism consists of. I like how this post highlights that today there should be more of a focus on finding and putting together existing knowledge in new ways, rather than trying to find or invent new knowledge.

gives 7 things to consider in personal learning networks; what they are (a learner-centric approach to learning), major universities who utilize PLEs, why they are significant (extension of classroom learning) and some of the downsides (constant need to maintain, organize, and grow learning networks), where PLEs are headed and their implications in education (deeper engagement with content)

I think the 'who's doing it' section is very useful. It's helpful to see how it is being implemented.

Teaching us about PLEs through a story and simple bulleted points is an ingenious idea to get straight to the point. Rather than a long dissertation, writing a short article can sometimes be more powerful.

In this article, the authors attempt to explain personal learning environments through many learning theories. One mentioned is socio-cultural, "where knowledge is seen to be situated in its context, avoiding a curriculum dominated by the teacher as expert". I think this really explains personal learnin networkds very well. Along with socio-cultural, the article proposes a new learning model based on these personal learning networks.

This is a pretty simple explanation of connectivism. Basically it is about adding nodes to your PLN which connects you to another resource.

Usually when I see anything WIki that has to do with research I have the initial tendency to try to stay far away because in my undergrad years I was constantly reminded to pursue peer reviewed articles. What I really appreciate about this resource is how simple and basic it is on Connectivism. This wikispace provides all the "nuts and bolts" of Connectivism and is a great starting point for digging deeper into understanding its theory. Great find!

"Connectivism is a learning theory promoted by Stephen Downes and George Siemens." Learning occurs with connections in networks. This article believes that with connectivism we can move to a new age of learning. Learning can be more collaborative and global. With connectivism we see the use of networks with nodes and connections to elaborate on our learning.

Suggests that understanding how members of a learning community converse is an important component of understanding connectivism. The tone of the interactions in a forum rely on the design and management of the space. Furthermore, learning depends on sharing in conversations and interactions which themselves can be meaningful activities. During communication among learners, there is a balance of what is good for each individual and the ability to move towards a common purpose.

In this article, Andrew Ravenscroft explores a "dialogue rich view of connectivism" and how we can develop learners that can "think, reason and analyse." He takes inspiration from social constructivist theory to focus on dialogue as a vehicle for learning. Ravenscroft begins by detailing Siemens 8 principles of connectivism. He then asks 3 questions: how can we understand the dialogue processes of a networked world, what dialogue features make for quality connections and how do we design to promote quality connections. He starts to explore the questions with Socrates and the Socratic method. This method has applications for 21st century learning. He reviews Hegel's dialectic as well. Ravenscroft maps these positions to connectivism because dialectic helps refine knowledge from a diversity of opinions, supports the capacity to know more, consideration of alternative viewpoints, fosters a constant evolution of knowledge, and promotes critical and collaborative dialogue. Then he discusses dialogic processes and how they map to connectivism. Dialectic and dialogic can work, not in opposition, but together in different aspects. Dialectic focuses on the epistemic and cognitive dimensions of learning, while dialogic focuses more on emotional and interpersonal aspects. The author then details dialogue game interactions and how they can foster learning. To be successful they need to balance orchestration and openness. This article proposes that language and dialogue remain a "most powerful semiotic system."

What a fascinating article. Ravenscroft's discussion of a scaffolded system to build a learner's dialogic skills reminds me of research I did for my EdTech504 class on self-regulated learning. Roger Azevedo is developing and experimenting with a similar game, MetaTutor, which scaffolds student learning as well. I think self-regulation is complex and difficult to teach in the classroom, and am amazed that researchers are creating software to build self-efficacy!

PLN have been around forever but now we use technology to help increase those who can be involved. Most of the Personal Learning Networks are online and we can communicate with others from around the world. This article gives examples of how to use a PLN and how to build your own.

I liked the video clip that showed how networking can be beneficial. Simple video that explains it for people like me who are new the world of PLN's.

I like the chart of resources. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around all of the social media tools available out there on the Internet, so the chart in this blog post is helpful. Thanks!

***You will likely have to sign in to the Albertson's Library to access this article! This article provides examples of how Karl Fisch uses his own personal learning network. He references electronic sources, books, and face-to-face interactions that all represent critical parts of his PLN.

This is another resource from Albertson's Library. If you click on the link you will be prompted for your MyBoise login information before being redirected to the article. This article looks at how professional learning networks are developed and why they are successful. It describes how people use their social network to reach out and find the content they are most interested in. It also talks about networked learning being focused on the learner whether the learning is personal, collaborative or collective. It describes the importance of having a far reaching social network to facilitate the learning and how this approach is being adopted by educational institutions.

YouTube video giving great reasons for the PLN, the role of the PLN and an overview of one person's PLN.  Gives one a pretty good understanding of the 'why' and 'how' of Personal Learning Networks.

I think the author makes a great point with the "two-way street" analogy. It helps differentiate the qualities of PLNs versus PLEs and reminds us that we can be a valuable resource in others' PLNs.

In this video, the author explains the reasons educators should focus on building their Personal Learning Networks. This guy is pretty funny and does a good job explaining why PLN's are important.

This articles provides an important model for understanding the personal learning networks that students can create as part of the learning process. It incorporates Connectivism learning theory as part of the PLN creation.

This article opens by explaining that personal learning networks are about learning through interactions with others in multiple ways. These PLNs allow learners to join multiple groups and access resources to help them learn when needed. One big topic it hits on is how the learning is initiated by the learner on their own. The writer goes on to say that today there is access to so much information on the internet that makes it so much easier to access the resources to help people learn. It also discusses how learning is self-directed yet the resources within the personal learning network can make that easier.

Written by George Siemens, focuses on learning theories for the digital age. He hits on several learning theories but comes to focus on networks and connectivism. He defines it and shares principles of connectivism.

Learning theories are frameworks describing how knowledge is absorbed, processed, and retained during learning but they never focus on the networks and connections. It is interesting that the three major learning theories Behaviorism, Cognitivism, and Constructivism are still so dominate in education when the digital age is more than acquiring information; it is how that information is organized and share with others.

George Siemens seems to be the authority on Connectivism. While I do think his theory has merit, I cannot completely agree with him on all points. I did look at this article and I think it does a good job of explaining his theory particularly the examples.

This is one of my favorite sites, www.edutopia.org, and I thought this was a nice intro article to social networking in education.

While short and simple, this gives a powerful punch! By using strong language like "scary" and "criminal" it says teachers (and parents, I might add) need to show kids how to tell their own story wisely. If we block social media tools out, students will not learn!

Jaime, I like the term coined here, academic networking. It fits very nicely with the Connectivism Learning Theory.